Tag Archives: authors

What’s an Indie author? The word “indie” comes from the root word individual. An Indie author is an individual author who has self-published a book without help from other entities. A lot of people may find this to be uncommon, but it’s not at all. Hundreds of years ago, every author had to go through a press in order to get noticed and published. Times change, people change. Today, media and technology is advertising a lot of Indie authors and supporting them through countless interviews and book blurbs. So, what’s the status quo, Carl? It’s been predicted by many researchers that Indie authors will become more prevalent and presses will become nonexistent by 2020. Yeah, 2020! Perfect vision, perfect writing! Why? The root reason is Indie authors are taking the time to learn all of the loops in getting a book published. Recently, I wrote a blog post about Book Publishing 101. Myself, as well as others, have had these experiences and going through a press for an agent and/or editor becomes unnecessary. Many presses of today do not publish certain books because of their content, theme, and the notion of them not making an abundant of purchases. It’s vital for Indie authors to understand how to manuever through the hidden fees they encounter. To conclude, Indie authors must build up a network of readers and writers, as well as doing freebies to draw a bigger audience. The bigger your network, the more successful you become in advertising your book!

I strongly believe one of the top failures for new, emerging authors is the marketing techniques they use in promoting their book. Typically, many authors purchase press kits with their publisher to help get their book recognized. Press kits are a good start point, but one should not fully rely on them. When I wrote my first three books, I did not use a press kit. I did “personal marketing.” Personal marketing and know how to do it well causes your book to be globally and locally recognized. I want to share some of the tactics and tools I have personally used in promoting my books. I also had help designing a website from Web Chimpy, they did a great job.

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing gives an author the opportunity to convert the manuscript of their book into an e-Book version. If you’re an author that is limited on funds, this is your first source for marketing. Try to sell your book electronically and see how well it goes. If you make good ebook sales, begin transitioning into print copies through Amazon Marketplace.

Amazon Advantage Program

Amazon Advantage Program offers the opportunity for authors to send in print copies of their book to the warehouse. It’s imperative that I state you should make sure you send the exact amount of print copies you requested in your purchase order. When you submit your purchase order, Amazon will give you a shipping label and packaging label to make sure the correct personnel receives your book.

Personal Author Website

No matter what genre of writing you choose to pursue, every author needs a personal website that displays their book and how to go about purchasing it. Preferably, use your name as the web domain. If it’s not available, use the title of your book. Start with a .com domain and then search for available domains, if these options are not available.

Do not overdo your website. My very first website I created had too much information on it. The basic components should consist of an intro/welcome to your site, the author’s bio (keep it brief), the marketing outlets that have your book(s) available for purchase, and a way readers and visitors can contact you for more information. It’s imperative to have an email address correspondent to your website. For instance, my email is carl@carlmckever.com. If you feel your works will be huge, it’s wise to set up separate email addresses for each entity. Entities could be copyrights, book purchases, book reviews, ratings, interviews, endorsement letters, and author appearances (bookings).

Google SEO/ Google Analytics

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. I didn’t take advantage of Google Analytics or SEO until I wrote my fourth book. This software, patented by Google, shows you the location of the visitors on your website. You can get hit counts, web statistics, and pull up reports for your website. SEO is setup in your website within your metatags, to help Google easily locate your website. When someone searches your name on Google, your website should be the first link to show up.

Google Authorship

After your author website is established and you have SEO generated in the background, you can enroll into Google Authorship. This tool simply verifies your rights as an author and places your name to the right when someone searches for you. In order to use this, you have to embed code, from Google, into a website that includes your name as an author. You can even do this for newspaper articles, blogs, and journal entries.

NOOK Press

NOOK Press is an online self-publishing tool created by Barnes & Noble. The online software allows you to upload your manuscript and book cover, and then sell it as an email on a NOOK device. Barnes & Noble is just as reputable as Amazon and I encourage every author to use both platforms. I see many authors on Kindle and not on NOOK; as if NOOK is phasing away.

Amazon Author Central

Amazon Author Central is a platform that allows authors to create a profile and claim their books already being sold on Amazon. With Amazon Central, you can set up your upcoming events, embed an RSS feed or blog, upload pictures of yourself, and display videos about you and/or your book(s).

Amazon AudioBook Exchange (ACX)

Audiobooks are becoming a new thing in today’s publishing era. Once your books are available for sale on either Kindle or print, you can get an auditor to record your book. Royalties and contracts are setup and those that cannot read or see your book, can listen to your book through Audible.

Goodreads

When I first joined Goodreads, I freaked out because I didn’t understand why I could not create an author page. Before establishing an author page, you must recommend, read, and rate so many books. You begin by searching for your book. If Goodreads does not pull up anything, a button will appear that says “manually add my book(s)”. As I began to get ratings and reviews on my book, I added friends and joined different communities. This opened up my understanding and I began setting up critique groups, writing blog posts, include my works of writing, and uploading pictures.

One great feature, as a Goodreads author, I encourage is book giveaways. Setting up quizzes and trivia on your book sounds great, but to gain exposure you have to give away something for free. Even if you give away 1 copy, you can gain a lot of readers. When I did my first book giveaway, I only gave away 1 free copy of my book. The amount of contestants I had was 992 at the closeout. Take advantage of the giveaways.

LibraryThing

LibraryThing is a cataloging platform where librarians catalog books in their library and books of interest. You can still create an author page, upload photo(s), and contribute to the Common Knowledge placed on your books. Your readings and events can be added on LibraryThing and to find people of similar interest, you can join the Hobnob with Authors group.

Twitter/FaceBook/GooglePlus

All three of these social media platforms are free. If you have written multiple works, I suggest only creating one author page and displaying all of your works there. If you are concerned with privacy, block unwanted users and set your profile to private. Keep in mind that a private profile is harder to find than a public one.

Being a book reviewer for the last two weeks and having many of my books reviewed by others, I tend to see a lot of commonality in reviews. Mistakes, gestures, and things that are just inappropriate for a book review. It is one thing to tell someone that their book is great and others should read it. It’s practically a cliché at this point. Reviewers have to make prospective readers thirsty and energized in interest to the point where they want to purchase the book. Book reviews have the same flavor and sensitivity as a sales pitch.

How do I write a book review? Where do I start? How long should it be? Common questions with various answers! I only speak, in this blog post, from personal experiences as a book reviewer. When you begin writing a book review, start off thanking the author for their publication. You can include if you won the book through a giveaway, but know that this is a necessary evil. After being complimentary, start addressing the overall design of the book. What feeling did you get when you looked at the front cover? Does the title give off the main idea? Are the designs on the front and back covers an act of symbolism? Does the small wording on the back cover heighten your interest to open the book? These are the things prospective readers want to know.

The next portion of your book review should address the grammar and punctuation. Yes, something not often placed in reviews. It’s imperative that you get someone else to check your grammar and punctuation. Go through an editor or agent, if you have to. You’ve read the book. So, did you have to stop and almost stutter because the fragments were not revised properly in the sentences? Did the author wean off topic for a long time without reeling you back into his/her main purpose? Prospective readers and book reviewers look for the author’s purpose, focus, and moral in every story. At this point, you can begin considering the format and layout of the book. Was the table of contents outlined correctly? Were page numbers included? Was the book entirely too long with unnecessary information in chapters? Was the font and alignment of each page hard to conceptualize? Think about this when writing your book review.

These pieces to a book review are great, but the most crucial and last component of the book review should be recommendations. Make the sales pitch! State the type of audience who should be reading the book and address any internal/external feelings they may run into. Is the book full of adventure and suspense? Is it religious? Are profane words and derogatory remarks made in the book? Why is this so important? The prospective reader wants to know if they’re the right audience! For instance, I’m a poet and when I read reviews for poetry books, I want to know if the books are centered on the same themes I write about and read about. If I was a counselor and the book is full of adventure, but doesn’t hold a dramatic event requiring counseling for someone, this may not be the book for me. Make your recommendations and state why such audiences are the right candidates.

In closing, have fun with your book reviews! Don’t make it into an assignment or required duty. Don’t treat it as some book report or an exhausting activity one does when they finish a book. Write your review while you’re in a happy mode and when you think and concentrate about the interesting pieces of the book. Even if the book is terrible, don’t come right out and say, “this is the worse book to buy.” Mention the author’s weaknesses and give suggestions on how they could become strengths. Don’t tear down your author publicly, but address horrible matters through private communications.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of your book reviews out there!

Ned Vizzini has a talent for capturing the emotions and feelings of what it’s like to be a teenager. With his new novel co-written with Chris Columbus he promises yet another exciting and youthful story. The book House of Secrets has already received some great words of approval from J.K. Rowling and Vizzini’s fans are waiting with anticipation for the release date of April 23, 2013.

Check out this exclusive interview with author Ned Vizzini about his all new book and don’t forget to head on over to Amazon or your favorite online or in-store retailer to pre-order a copy!

This is my recent author interview with our very own Editor – In – Chief, James Agee Jr.

For those of you who did not already know but James is an indie author with three published works…

So without further ado I give to you my recent author interview with James Agee Jr.

Author Bio (Amazon):

I have always imagined that there is more to the average than meets the eye. In fact, the average is what interest me the most. I can take a simple leaf and devise a complex past and future for it without having to compromise it’s current state of being normal, the power of imagination is great. Sharing the world that I see with others through literary works and written accounts, be they true or fictitious, is a passion and duty of mine.

1.What made you decide that you wanted to be an author?

I have always loved telling stories and making up imaginary worlds and things like that, so it wasn’t a far stretch to decide to become an author. It was basically the decision to just take what I had been writing and open it up to a whole new audience, a much bigger audience.

2. What inspires you to write and what keeps you writing?

Lots of things inspire me to write, but the main thing would be life itself. If I experience something incredible, I usually put it into words. Music is also a major factor in what inspires me to write. I can hear a brilliant song and then get this little idea in my head, that idea usually grows and grows until it is a major part of a story or a story in itself. I can’t explain how it works, but I believe that everyone experiences this type of inspiration someway, for everyone it’s different.

3. Currently, what books have you written?

Currently, I have written Jim, a book about a guy who can only remember things from the day in which he lives and his struggle to live a normal life. Mask City, the dark and thrilling tale about Thomas and Lacy, brother and sister, who are thrust into a world so different from their own. I have also written a few things here and there, some of which are not credited to me, but this is also something that almost all authors face at one point or another.

4. Where did your ideas come from to write Mask City?

My ideas for Mask City came from many places, but mainly they were made up. It is a work of fiction that was inspired by the world around me. I do need to give credit where credit is due though, I started writing the book and so much was inspired by the song Warrior by Kimbra and that guy from Foster The People, just something about that song really helped develop Thomas’ personality and his drive to keep on living life.

5. Do you have any books or peices of writing that you are currently working on? If so what can you say about them so far?

I am currently working on a book that is a bit up in the air, if that makes sense. It is coming along, but I am taking my time with it. Right now the name is not set in stone, but I am really liking the idea of it being called Bontrix, the name of one of the main characters. I may or may not let this one get published just yet though, it may be one that needs to wait a few years, or perhaps never be published, then again it may just come out sooner than later. I don’t know, that’s just part of being a writer, it’s a constant struggle of what of your work should be published and when.

6. Do you read a lot and what is your favorite genre?

I read all of the time! I love literature and believe that there is so much power in a book. My favorite genre is Young Adult Fiction, I know a lot of people criticize the genre for being too lax in subject matter and much less serious than it should be, but I beg to differ. I have read many great Young Adult novels that have really been some of the best books that I have ever read. I love that the genre is so open to subject matter and that it is accessible to literally almost anyone!

7. Is book publishing a difficult process? Do you have any advice for people looking to get their books published?

Fortunately, book publishing is much more common now than it was many years ago. Anyone can self publish a book, and that’s a truly great thing, though that leaves us with a market flooded with books, making it harder to find exactly what you may be looking for. My main advice for anyone looking to publish a book on their own is to learn from their mistakes. Your first book may turn out “ok”, but let’s be honest, “ok” isn’t usually good enough for someone whose spent a large sum of their time writing a book that they are passionate about. Take what you didn’t like about the first book and make it better on your next book or next edition of the original. Stay focused and plan everything out! You know what your book is about better than anyone else, so you know how the cover should look and things like that. Don’t settle for mediocre, put everything you have into your book!

8. How can people find out more about you?

People can find out more about me or my books by visiting me online at:

I love to read and write. Aside from that I enjoy photography and watching movies. I am not a huge fan of television, in fact I don’t watch television at all. I do however enjoy movies, independent ones, and the theatrical experience that only reading a book or watching a movie can give you. It’s totally immersive and for a few moments you have lived another life, gone to another land, been someone else. The power of words and the power of cinema are magnificent things, so I truly enjoy that.

10. What would you like to say to your readers?

Just do what you love and do the best you can, the end result will always be brilliant.

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James Agee is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.